PLAY CONTINUED TODAY at the PREDATOR EUROPEAN SENIORS CHAMPIONSHIPS with action in both the 8-ball and men’s teams competitions. The 8-ball has reached the single elimination stage in all three categories while both team events are now down to the semi-finals which take place on Wednesday.
Taking place at the De Bonte Weever Hotel in Assen, the Predator European Seniors Championship features 159 players from 24 countries contesting four disciplines of pocket billiards across three categories – men, 45-plus and 55-plus and 45-plus ladies.
In the 55-plus division, the Netherland’s Peter De Vries is on track for a second European Championship medal as he overcame Lichtenstein’s Berno Heeb by 7-5 to take his place in the last 16. The tall Dutchman was a 10-ball bronze medallist last year but will need to get past the dangerous Martin Steinlage tomorrow if his quest is to continue.
Commented Peter, “I’m not playing for a medal, I’m playing for the big one! No.1 this year, I hope. It was a complete surprise for me (winning a bronze medal) as it was my first European Championship last year so this year, I know how it is but that gives me a little bit of pressure, of course.
“I want to do better this year but it’s not that easy. Actually, I never play 8-ball - most tournaments are 9-ball and 10-ball. It's not that I’m not a fan of it, I just never play it. I trained a lot these last few months, a little 8-ball, but my focus was mostly on 9 and 10-ball. And the breaks, because the breaks are different here, everything is different here so I try my best and I hope for some result. We’re not there yet, but I’m on my way,” he added.
The ladies’ 8-ball is also down to the final 16 and one player looking to add to her extensive collection of European Championship medals is Norway’s Ine Helvik. The Norwegian has a wealth of experience at this level, having claimed four gold medals amongst others at previous European Championships. She came in via the one-loss side as she defeated Stella Julien (France) in a very tense final rack decider.
“That was terrible, when you lose your confidence, there’s no shot that’s easy and you just have to take a breath and try to focus and just believe that you can make the ball and, in the end, I made the ball and she didn’t.
“I sit on my chair and try to focus on breathing and calm down the body because you get a little shaky when you’re nervous like that and the adrenalin comes. I’ve done it before, I know how to do it and it’s just a matter of actually doing it.
“I’m going to take one game at a time but I went this year with a goal of actually having a medal in 8-ball because that’s the only discipline where I’ve never had a medal, so I’m going to really fight for that,” she concluded.
8-ball continues to a conclusion tomorrow (Monday) with semi-finals set for 19.00 and the three title matches slated for 21.00.
Streaming of Tables 1 and 2 for the duration of the Predator European Seniors Championships can be found on YouTube, via the Pro Billiard TV channel - https://www.youtube.com/@ProBilliardTV
For all results, live scoring and draw, visit www.epbf.com/tournaments/european-championships/
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